Royal Bank of Canada Boosts Stock Position in Ashland Inc. $ASH

Royal Bank of Canada raised its holdings in Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) by 49.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 34,975 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 11,575 shares during the quarter. Royal Bank of Canada’s holdings in Ashland were worth $1,946,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Ashland by 59.0% during the 2nd quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 671 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 249 shares during the period. Danske Bank A S bought a new position in Ashland during the third quarter valued at about $38,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd grew its position in Ashland by 398.3% during the third quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 1,460 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $70,000 after buying an additional 1,167 shares during the period. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. increased its holdings in Ashland by 535.8% during the fourth quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 1,348 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $79,000 after buying an additional 1,136 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC increased its holdings in Ashland by 76.7% during the third quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 2,098 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $101,000 after buying an additional 911 shares during the last quarter. 93.95% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ashland Stock Performance

Shares of ASH opened at $73.52 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $68.43 and its 200 day simple moving average is $61.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 1.89 and a current ratio of 3.05. Ashland Inc. has a 52-week low of $46.29 and a 52-week high of $78.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 64.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 0.40.

Ashland Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 1st will be paid a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 1st. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. Ashland’s dividend payout ratio is currently 147.37%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on ASH. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Ashland from $68.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Mizuho raised their price target on shares of Ashland from $75.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Seaport Research Partners raised shares of Ashland from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 price target on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Ashland from $58.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $85.00 target price on shares of Ashland in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $73.90.

Ashland Profile

Ashland Inc is a global specialty chemicals company that develops, manufactures and supplies a broad range of performance and process-critical additives, ingredients and technologies. Its portfolio spans performance additives for coatings, adhesives and sealants; specialty ingredients for personal care and pharmaceutical applications; and process aids used in water treatment and other industrial processes. Ashland aims to address customer challenges by delivering tailored solutions that improve product performance, processing efficiency and sustainability outcomes.

Founded in 1924 as the Ashland Oil & Refining Company, the firm gradually expanded into the specialty chemicals sector over the second half of the 20th century.